DIRECTIONS: cut a miniature pumpkin in half and remove stem and seeds. You can also use sweet potatoes or kabocha squash or canned pumpkin.

Cut sections into fourths, then eighths. Arrange the pumpkin pieces in a large frying pan with a lid. Add a couple of inches of filtered water to the pan, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until the pumpkin is cooked. Remove lid and remove from heat. Cool pumpkin then add to a processor with the leftover water and puree. Skin can be left on. This is what gives pumpkin pie its wonderful color. Or discard skin before processing. If you leave the skin on, strain the pureed pumpkin through a steel colander or strainer, into a large bowl.

Using a smaller bowl on the food processor or a small blender like a magic bullet, make cashew cream by adding 1C cashews or cashew pieces to a blender with 1/2C water and the vanilla extract and blend until thick and creamy. Add the eggs, pinch of salt, and all the spices except for the fresh ginger, if using. Peel the ginger and cut into thin chunks small enough to fit into a garlic press. Press the ginger into the food processor or blender, removing the skin from each piece of ginger that you press, before pressing the next piece. Blend well, until creamy.

Fold the mixture into the pumpkin puree and mix gently. Scoop the mixture into glass ramekins and fill them one-fourth of the way from the top. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until cooked through. Custard will start to brown on top and pull away from the edges of the ramekins, toothpick inserted in the center should come out almost clean.

NOTE: you can serve this warm as a side-dish with a meal or refrigerate and serve as a sugar-free dessert. If serving as a dessert, you can top each ramekin with whipped coconut cream. If the custard isn’t sweet enough for you, you can do one or more of the following: sweeten the whipped cream, add 100% liquid Stevia or lucuma powder before baking the custard, drizzle a little unpasteurized honey or real maple syrup on top of the custard before serving.